The Crucible Essay Example for Free

The Crucible Essay The title the â€Å"crucible† by Author Miller is a metaphor for the witch trial in Salem that manipulates the impure hearts just as the crucible melts impure metal. The crucible was set in the Puritan society where religion was strict and everything; everyone was either belong to god or the devil. People in the Puritan society used that as a tool to gain power and wealth. Throughout the witch trial, many people with impure hearts were manipulated by the overwhelming power of being connected to god and tried to benefit from it but eventually it led to their own destruction such as Abigail, Thomas Putnam and Paris. On the other hand many people with pure hearts were willing to be hanged than named other people such as Giles Corey and John Proctor. Abigail, Paris and Thomas Putnam hearts were blacken by the power of god but granted by the devil. They accused other of witchcraft in order to benefit from it. Thomas Putnam accused other as witchcraft so he could by off the land while Paris accused other who against him to protect his fame. Unlike Paris and Putnam, Abigail purpose was different. At first she accused other because she was offered a chance to get away with her sin but then she was overwhelm with the new found power ,the power that she never had before, the power that bring her out of the misery life of a Puritan girl who was only a little more than a slave. Abigail’s hatred against Elizabeth filled heart with vengeance which made it vulnerable and easy to be manipulated by the Devil. Giles Corey, an elderly who had many experience in lawsuits. Unfortunately his wife Martha Corey was accused for witchcraft by reading books. Giles Corey tried to safe his wife but he was arrested in a lawsuit against Putnam. The Judge tried to break him in many ways but he refused to name anyone. He was then tortured with a large rock on top of his chest until death but still not a name came out of his mouth except two words â€Å"more weight†. With no stain in the heart, Giles Corey and others who did not name other people to die in their place were like the pure steel that won’t melt under high temperature of the crucible. Difference from Abigail and Giles Corey, John Proctor was neither pure white nor black. He could be considered as a tragic hero, who had been upright for most of his life and the only his only sin was the lust with Abigail. His lust for Abigail Williams led to their affair and created Abigail’s hatred of his wife which sets the entire witch hysteria in motion. John was a dynamic character that changed through the plays. At the beginning he tried to hide his sin to keep his reputation but as things got worse he confessed himself. The judge nearly able to convinced him to name someone else but in the end he did not. He refused to give such false confession because such confession would dishonor his fellow prisoners, who are brave enough to die as testimony to the truth. The witch trial was like a burning flame that feed on the darkness in one heart. The witch trial only happen because people allowed to. If it weren’t for people like Abigail, Paris and Putnam the witch trial would never start and if it weren’t for people like Giles and John the witch trial would never end. Authur Miller used such fine metaphor for the title because the value of a heart can only by judge in such circumstance just as the value of an metal can only be tested by extreme temperature.